Card #11. Martin Luther King.

Martin Luther King was a clergyman and one of the most prominent members of the civil rights movement.
He was born of January 15, 1929. He became famous in the 19500 and 1960-es through opposition to racial segregation in the USA. King promoted non-violent meth-ods of opposition such as boycotts or sit-ins.
In 1963 he helped organize March on Washington; the march drew hundreds of thou-sands of civil rights supporters to Washington, D.C., for a mass rally. At this march he delivered his most celebrated speech. He stressed the importance of non-violent protest and described a possible future of racial harmony in the US. He said: "I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply routed in the American dream: I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be charged by the color of their skin but by the content by their character".
After this march Martin Luther King was put into jail; there he wrote his famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail" which he addressed to his fellow clergymen. In this letter he defended the civil rights movement, saying that without forceful actions like this march, equal rights for black people would never be gained. He claimed "one who breaks an unjust law must o it openly, lovingly." Such a person, King said, is showing respect for law because he insists that law should be just.
In 1964 Martin Luther King received the Nobel Prize for peace. He was assassi-nated by James Earl Ray in 1968. A national holiday each January 15 commemorates his life.

Card #12. Oliver Cromwell.

One of the chief tendencies of the English history is the struggle between the king and the people. This is a struggle to decide which of them is supreme. One of the most important moments in this long struggle came in the seventeenth century.
During this period the political parties as we know them began to form. Charles I was on the throne. He hated the Parliament. He thought that its only function was to vote for his laws. At last people realized that they had to resist him by force. In 1642 the Civil War broke out.
Most rich men and noblemen of the country supported Charles. They were called Royalists. They were well trained and had skilful leaders.
People who supported the Parliament, the Parliamentarians, were Puritans. But their courage and religion was not enough to win the battles. They needed training and a good leader. It was Oliver Cromwell who became their leader.
Cromwell was a country gentleman. He was born in 1599, 25 April in Wales. He got his education at a grammar school. He became a member of the Parliament and was famous there as a rough man. He was also known for his strength of character and sincerity. He saw that if the Parliament army wanted to win victories, it must be as well trained as Charles' army.
Cromwell gathered soldiers in the eastern part of England and trained them. He wanted them to fight for freedom, Parliament and religion. Then, when they were ready, he led them into the battle. Several battles were won by the Parliamentarians. In 1645 at Naseby the king's army was defeated. In these battles Cromwell made dizziness martial career. In 1642 he was a captain. In 1643 he was promoted to colonel.
Cromwell was in 1645 leader of the whole Parliamentary forces. In 1649 the king gave himself up and was put into prison. Finally he was brought to trial in London for being an enemy to his country. He was found guilty and beheaded.
In the same month a Parliamentary government came to power. Cromwell became the ruler of England, not as King, but as "Protector of the Commonwealth". O.C. died in 1658, September 3. His successor must have been Richard Cromwell, his elder son, but being worthless, incapable, Richard in 1689 had had to renounce from the name of Protector.

Card #13. Education in GB and USA.

Education is very important for every person. It gives information and opportunities for further life. Every country has its own, unique system of education. We can note examples of many different systems, but I think the most developed and popular are: education system in the USA, the education system in Great Britain, as the most oldest, and Russian education system, the best in some qualities I think.
But as many persons as many opinions, and the best way to prove something is to compare it, I consider.

Education in Great Britain

There are three main systems in Britain: the Comprehensive system, the selective and the private system.
The Comprehensive system was introduced in Britain in 1960s. More than 90% of children who go to state schools go to schools of comprehensive system. Children go to a primary school at the age of 5. Then they go to the upper school - usually called comprehensive - at the age of 11. Alternatively they may go to the middle school for 3 or 4 years before going to the upper school.
The selective system, which still exists in some areas of Britain, is old. It was introduced in 1944. Children are selected according to their abilities. In Britain children then take an examination called 11-plus and who are successful go to the grammar school and those who fail enter the secondary modern school.
And the last subsystem that is developed in Great Britain is the private education. In Britain about 7% of children go to private schools. There are three levels of private education: primary schools - age from 4 to 8, preparatory school - age from 8 to 13. At the age of 13 children take an examination. If they are successful they go on to public schools where they usually remain until the age of 18.
Almost all students in Britain take examinations. The public examinations taken by British schoolchildren are called GCSEs (The General Certificate of Secondary Education). Pupils usually take their GCSEs at the age of 16. Pupils who have passed their GCSEs may remain at school for another two years and take their advanced level exams. It's interesting to mote that any student who wants to go to the university needs to pass two or three "A" level exams.

Education in the United States

Most schools in the United States start at the kindergarten level.
In addition to bilingual and bicultural programs many schools have special programs for those with learning and reading difficulties.
All the education system of USA have always stressed the importance of "character" or "social skills" through extracurricular activities, including organized sports. There is usually a very broad range of such activities available. They not only give pupils a chance to be together outside normal classes, but they also help to develop a feeling of "school spirit". And to my mind it is the one of the most striking differences between the American education system and Russian education system. And I'm sure that it is our great loss.
In my opinion the weakness of the US education system is that students at early age have to choose subjects and they don't receive the beginning knowledge of all branches of sciences.
The education in the USA is most provided with new technologies. In every school there are new models of computers and almost every school has a direct connect to the Internet. Internet gives an opportunity for remote education with the help of e-mail, special forums and teleconferences. Russia is on the first stage of bringing these technologies in education. But I hope we will have them too in our school.

Card #14. Нету :(

Card #15. World of jobs.

We spend great part of our lives at our jobs, so choosing a right career is one of the most important decisions you will make in your life. Many students finish high school and begin college without a clear idea of what they want to do in future. Part of the problem is the size of the job market itself. With so many kinds of jobs (2000) how can you tell which will interest you?
Some of occupations are already overcrowded. In old industries there may be little need for new workers, while new and growing industries will offer jobs now and in the future.
Therefor, it is extremely important to explore your choice of occupations from every angle, collect as much information as you can. But above all you must evaluate yourself. Find out where your interests and talents lie.
Postponing a decision is an error people make. "I'll get started tomorrow or next week, or next year," - many people think. These people refuse to face the problem, hoping it will go away. But if you don't take the first step now, how can you plan for the future, how can you take the right way? Such people miss many opportunities.
First start with yourself, make a list of your interests, talents and abilities. Most people have a lot of these, but at the beginning they are undeveloped and may not seem outstanding. By concentrating on a few, or on one you may surprise yourself at how good you can get. The interest inventory that follows covers the major fields in which most people find careers: science, art, social service, business, sales and so on.
Sometimes we say that someone we know is 'a square peg in a round hole'. This means that person we are talking about is not suited for the job he is doing. Unfortunately, many people in the world are 'square pegs'.
But to be a 'square peg' is not a real problem, a real problem for millions of people is to be unemployed. Unemployment especially hits poor and working class families the hardest, not because this people are more likely to be unemployed, but because they don't have financial resource to fall back on.
Unemployment exists primarily for two reasons: first - the existence of millions of unemployed people tends to present most of those working from asking for higher wages since they can be replaced easily, second - in their search for profits, corporations are interested in finding the cheapest labor.
As for our country more than 10% of our people are unemployed. There is no lack of work force in Russia, but at the resent moment the need for professional workers is increasing. Old industries are overcrowded and it is hard to get new education for people whose age is 35-40 years. The problem of unemployment is also connected with the economic crisis in our country. And I think when this crisis comes to an end the problem of unemployment will not be so urgent.